Time to Pack!

Packing for four months in a foreign country is a daunting task. If you are flying economy, like I did, you're allowed two suitcases and a carryon, which is not a lot to fit your entire life in, especially if you don't know what the next few months are going to be like. What do people wear? What do I need to bring? What can I buy there? What won't I need? What will the weather be like? These questions were floating around my head as I was trying to pack and it would have been useful to know some answers. So here they are!

• What clothes should I bring? When you're trying to immerse yourself in a foreign culture (and also not trying to look like an obvious American target for pickpocketers, or carteristas, you want to blend in and dress how the locals dress. So...during the day when you're out-and-about or walking to class, the top word I would use to describe Catalonians is "well-dressed." Man, do these people know how to dress! You will never see anyone walking around in sweatpants, or wearing an outfit which isn't perfectly matching, or a shirt which isn't perfectly pressed. Whatever you wear, don't be a slob. Europeans are all about dressing to impress. For ladies, during the day, I would bring a few good pairs of skinny jeans and skinny pants to wear constantly with either flats or tall, leather boots. On the top, a nice flowy top with a scarf to match. You will learn this when you arrive in Spain but scarves are like a way of life. I left for Spain with 2 scarves and came back with 10. Gentlemen, you will resent this initially, but eventually you will succumb to European way of wearing their pants: tight. You can't avoid it. Even my friends who wore the baggiest jeans at the beginning of our semester eventually gave in. You can't help it. At night, when going out, Catalonians tend to be more casual than Americans. You'll be fine with wearing flat boots or flats and a fashionable but simple dress or dress and jeans. Bring a pair of heels for fancier nights. Men wear nice jeans with long-sleeve collared shirts.

• What should I bring for school? The number-one suggestion I have is to bring looseleaf paper and notebooks. Looseleaf paper does not exist in Spain and they all use graph paper to take notes on. If you're like me and you hate graph paper, bring paper with you or you'll be screwed for the rest of the semester.

• What should I bring for my apartment/home stay/dorm? Every living situation is different and has different requirements for what to bring, but I would recommend your own mattress cover, sheets and pillow cases if you can fit it. Most likely, they will provide you with bedding, but if you're like me and you love to lounge around in bed, I'd probably bring your own stuff so you feel right at home. Also, leave the blow-dryer and straightener at home. They'll blow the European outlets even if you have a converter (which is what happened to me my first night in Barcelona) and they're too bulky to take with you. Buy some at your local El Corte Ingles shopping center and pick some up. Not worth bringing with you. One thing you do want to bring with you though is tons of converters and adaptors. One of the first things you're going to want to do when you unpack is pull out your laptop and let your parents know you're alive. Without converters and adaptors, you won't be able to do this. It's much easier if you bring them from The States than have to deal with buying them once you land. Try this converter and adaptor kit from Going In Style Travel Acessories, which comes with everything you need in a nice carrying case.

• What's the weather like? Spain is a wonderful, wonderful place in that it's the sunniest country in Europe. So, even when it's cold and windy, the sun will still be shining. Another wonderful thing about Barcelona is that it's located on the Iberian Peninsula and on the Mediterranean Ocean, which means a Mediterranean climate! When you arrive in January, it will definitely be cold enough for a winter jacket and scarf, but it will never be frigid or uncomfortable. It will be a mild cold temperature (typically no colder than 35 degrees Fahrenheit) until March, at which point it will start to warm up very quickly. Before you know it, by the end of March, you'll be prancing around Playa Barceloneta, the main beach, in a bikini! Although Barcelona's climate is extremely warm, if you plan to travel, be aware that other countries, especially those in central  and eastern Europe, can get very cold, so I would bring some warm layers and clothes for traveling.

My friends & I at Playa Barceloneta - typical weekend